Moment: Professor Walks

There I was, sitting in English class. The class was almost over; six minutes to go. We're discussing the book Naked lunch but Burroughs, after discussing Beat poetry in general. The professor's up at the front, taking our observations on the book down upon the slide. The next slide he brings up is titled "Themes".



"Alright, what are some themes of the novel?" He asks. Someone puts up their hand.

"Non-linear storytelling?"

"Non-linearity, good, good," he says as he types the words down on the slide. After this, he goes away from the desk towards the door, presumably to close it...and just keeps walking, out the door and out of sight.

Ten seconds pass.

Twenty seconds pass. People begin to giggle and whisper.

Thirty seconds pass. I say a joke for all to hear: "Is he giving us an example of a non-linear classroom experience?" They laugh.

A minute passes. The man was gone! People begin to talk. What do we do? "I don't understand," quips a confused gentleman behind me. "But I want to. So badly."

About a minute and a half later, the subtle sounds and sights of people packing up to leave are seen, and like a hive mind, most of the class begins to pick up its things and head for the door. I gave him thirty more seconds, then began to do the same.

As I stand to leave, the professor says "Have a good weekend", implying it's time to go. Compelled by what had occurred, I went up and asked what had happened. It turns out that he was suffering from some colon cancer treatments he'd had earlier that year, and, quite simply, "had to go". Makes sense, I figuire. I hope he'll be healthy and able to keep it together in the future.


5-10-15-20 will conclude next week.

5-10-15-20: Movies

Part of a continuing series. Click here for the original: http://tikkimann.blogspot.com/2010/08/5-10-15-20.html
lick here for the second part: http://tikkimann.blogspot.com/2010/08/5-10-15-20-television.html
Click here for the third: http://tikkimann.blogspot.com/2010/08/5-10-15-20-websites.html

Goodness gracious, I've missed my deadline. Oh well, might as well still post it. School's been busy, and the blog's been a secondary priority. To business!

Age 5

Toy Story



Jeez, when I was five?! I hardly remember being five! I guess the structure of this article works better when it's a catchy tune. That stuff sticks in your head better than a feature-length film.
I still remember Toy Story, though. That was a cute little film, with memorable characters and scenes that stuck with me. I re-watched it with a friend before Toy Story 3 came out, and it stands up. And I remembered that Woody could be an eeeevil little toy.

Age 10

Cast Away



Tom Hanks. Home-made dentistry. That goddamn volleyball. Adn why the hell didn't he open that one package?! All things that I witnessed in Cast Away and stuck with me. I have a fascination with the notion of being alone, fending for yourself; what would I do? Could I make it? It probably comes from how hard I push myself to succeed in this world, according to my standards and the world's. What if I was put somewhere and my only real obligation was survival? That's the real personal appeal of such films.

At any rate, Cast Away was cool. All of Chuck's improvisations to deal with living alone on an island are fascinating: making fire, dealing with loneliness, finding food. It would be a worthy film even if I didn't take myself as seriously!

Age 15

Sin City



Now, that was a cool film. Based on a series of comics by Frank Miller the film is relentlessly dark and powerfully told, with a one-of-a-kind visual style--but its characters and story are what made it so great. Admittedly, I recognized when I saw this film for the first time that I should see this film again--but whenever the option to see it presents itself, I turn it down. Once again, it's the film's darkness: sadenning and horrifying in powerful ways, this film is of the kind to be enjoyed rarely; it's an emotional reaction worth seeking out, but only occasionally.

Age 20

The Social Network



I'm known to some to be a bit of a film buff, a lover of film trivia and interested in what's new in cinema. This is all new, however; I only really started to enjoy complex films with the release of No Country for Old Men and Pan's Labyrinth, films that are good on their own but get much better if you think about the action as you watch. As such, where I struggled to find films to list above, hereI can think of three films that would make solid contenders for my favourite of the year: How To Train Your Dragon, Inception, and The Social Network. Dragon was emotionally powerful and had an interesting plot, andInceptionwas one of those films that reminded me why I should only praise the best of films: because when I give praise to a film that was only decent, it weakens any praise I can give to something genuinely great. So why, then, do I name the drama about the creation of Facebook as my overall favourite? Have I weakly sided with the critics? Do I really like adult dramas that almost entirely deal with people talking to each other in rooms? No: I do it because it provoked a great deal of thought from me. In reality, this film made me realize that I generally don't like mature, talky dramas--but this film is one of the best of its kind. So while I didn't have a massive emotional reaction to the film upon leaving the theatre, I was completely enthralled with the film from start to finish, thinking of nothing else for two hours, and when it ended I was emotionally numb because so much had happened in the film, I didn't know immediately what to make of it. Sure, this film isn't a perfectly-accurate example of what happened during Facebook's creation, but it is a gripping drama with interesting characters and powerful acting.